Untold Story of Carrie Evers, Mistress of Stars
by Gabrielle R
Summary: You think you know everything that has happened in Fairy Tail? Think again. You haven't heard Carrie Evers, the Mistress of Stars story. Wendy finds a star in the abandoned room next to hers in Fairy Hills. With heavy hearts, Erza and the gang explain Carrie's brave story.


The Untold Story of Carrie Evers, Mistress of Stars

By: Gabrielle R

"Erza, Lucy, Natsu, Gray!" Wendy called.

"What's wrong Wendy?" Natsu asked.

Wendy held up her hand. A tiny orb that was glowing so bright, it started to blind everyone.

"Sorry!" Wendy said flustered, putting the orb in a jar. Miraculously, the orb was still shining brightly, but it was bearable. "I found this in the room next door to me in Fairy Hills. The door was wide open and I saw a bright light coming from it and found this. Do you know who's it is?"

The gang's eyes widened; they knew whose it was.

"Erza," Lucy said comfortingly. Erza clenched her fists.

"Did I say something wrong?" Wendy asked worriedly. Erza regained her composure.

"Sorry," she said, smiling gently at Wendy. "It wasn't anything you said." She took the jar from Wendy's delicate hands.

"Do you know whose it it? And what it is?" Wendy asked, intrigued by the glowing sphere.

They all noddded sadly. "It's a star," they said in unison.

Wendy's eyes widened. "A star? How can a star be here? It would burn everything up!" She took a few steps back from the jar in Erza's hands.

"It's not just any star. It was a star cast down from the heavens. If a star is called down star wizard, it loses most of its power," Gray explained. "But as you can see, it can still be pretty powerful."

"Whose is it?" Wendy repeated.

"Who _did_ have it," Erza corrected.

_"Did? _You mean they died?"

"It belonged to Carrie Evers," Erza choked up. "The Mistress of Stars."

Wendy was confused. "Sorry, I don't know who that is. In Caitshelter we didn't really get a lot of outside news."

"She was a great and talented and beautiful wizard," a gentle voice said behind them. It was Mirajane and she was holding a photo album. She took out a picture of everyone at the Fantasia parade a year ago.

"This is Carrie Evers," she said, pointing to a girl with long dark, wavy reddish-brown, eyes as gold as the sun, a determined face and was wearing a ball gown covered in glittering stars. "We made her do this. She didn't want to do it," Mirajane laughed.

The whole guild suddenly became very quiet, all eyes turning in their direction.

"Who's Carrie Evers?" Lisanna asked, walking over.

"That's right! Lisanna you were still in Edolas at the time when she joined and I invited her on my team," Natsu noted.

"Has it really only been a month," Erza said quietly, sounding far away.

"May we hear the story?" Wendy asked tentatively as if she were approaching a lost puppy.

They all paused. Erza broke the silence. "You might want to grab a comfy chair then," Erza said crossing her arms. "It's a rather long and sad story, but also one of courage. Carrie will always be in our hearts and I know for certain we will _never_ forget her."

Wendy and Lisanna sat forward, listening.

"She reminded me of myself in so many ways. She was troubled, stubborn, wouldn't let anyone into her heart, carried deep sadness, but she was also one of the strongest people I know. It was just a couple days before the thng with Oracion Seis. You guys remember."

Lucy nodded. "Yeah! We were just finished with Harvest Festival and the whole thing with Laxus."

"I had just recovered from all my injuries!" Natsu said grinning.

"We remember it like it was yesterday." Gray said, sounding far away like Erza. "But the day we took that job would change Carrie's life and our lives forever."

Chapter 1

I gasped for a breath. My knees buckled underneath me. I had to get up, but my legs were badly wounded and my arm was gushing blood from a knife slash.

"You won't be able to escape ever again after I'm done with you," her chaser said laughed, looming over her. It sent chills up my spine, but I wouldn't show fear even if this man scared me to death.

He raised a wicked whip above his head and was about to strike when a man yelled, "STOP!"

The man with the whip did and looked up. "What is the meaning of this Abriekios?!

The man named Abriekios panted. "We need her for the you-know-what," his voice dropped so low when he mentioned the last part. "She's _vital _to this!"

The man bared his teeth, but put up no arguement. Instead, he gave a good whip to my back. I cried out in pure agony.

"Now you can take her," he said smirking. He grabbed my by the hair and tossed me to Abriekios and left, his whip flashing in the sunlight.

"Stand up! I don't care if you are wounded," Abriekios commanded.

"I w-will _not _g-go back to that p-place," I stammered. I knew by defying them, they could possibly kill me.

Abriekios's eyes flashed with anger. "I just spared your life and this is how you thank me!"

I tried to get up, but the muscles I needed to stand up were fatally injured. I cried out in pain as I tried to stand up.

Abriekios siezed my good arm and hauled me to my feet. "Now walk!" he commanded.

I immediately collapsed. My legs just couldn't take it anymore.

"Why do you need me anyways? What is that thing that you're using on me every day. Those wires attached to me that are sapping my strength, what are they?!"

"Something that is going to help us," Abriekios smiled cruelly. "But I'm feeling kind today, I'll put you in your cell and let you rest and let your injuries heal a bit. But in two days, I will return." He grabbed me by the hair and dragged me to my cell, making my injuries even worse.

He dragged me down thirty flights of stairs and through the rocky tunnels of where the prison cells were. It wasn't exactly a prison for criminals, just hostages abducted from nearby villages to work on this project that most, myself included, didn't even know what was about.

Abriekios threw her into the cell and slammed the cellar doors, the sound echoing in the tunnels. Carrie laid on the cold cellar floor and whispered, "He's gone now."

A dozen people came out from behind the shadows, all frightened and eyes filled with hopelessness.

"Carrie!" a girl who looked almost exactly like me ran to my side. "What did they do to you?! We told you, you shouldn't have tried to escape! It's too risky and you could _die," _the girl cried, near tears.

"I'm fine Rose," I croaked, coughing up blood.

"You are clearly not okay!"she swept her short fiery red hair behind her ears and her grime covered face was smeared with tears.

Rose dragged me to the burlap sacks, also known as the hostages beds, and wrapped them around my wounds.

"This should help stop the bleeding for a little while, maybe we can have Leighton steal some medical supplies."

A boy came from behind the shadows. "Carrie!" he cried, running to my side. "It was a brave try Carrie. I didn't think my plan would fail." His jet black hair fell into his concerned green eyes.

"Leighton," I whispered.

"I'm right here Carrie," he said holding on to my hand.

"_Your plan!" _Rose shrieked. "So it was your idea to have my little sister get killed!"

"She isn't dead!" Leighton pointed out.

"I knew you were trouble the moment i laid eyes on you! A fourteen year old shouldn't make plans like that!"

"Why?! Because no one else will?!"

He got her there.

"Well that's because we know if we make plans, we'll end up getting caught or get tortured or worse: dying! By either trying to escape or having them kill us!"

"We have to at least try though. Because then we'll _never_ get out of here; _NEVER!_ "

"Shut-up Leighton! It's clear you value your plans more than you value my sister's life," Rose said, near yelling.

"That's not true and you know it!"

"Guys!" I croaked. "Please don't argue. It won't help our situation."

Rose went over to me and brushed back the hair from my face, soothingly.

"Leighton, when it's your shift, can you get some medical supplies." It wasn't a request, it was an order.

He nodded.

I coughed up more blood. "I have two days until they take me back to that place that saps all my energy. What is it? And what is it doing to me?" I asked desperately.

Rose and Leighton froze. "We don't know." They were lying and I knew it.

"You do know! Why do they do it to only me and some other people? Please tell me!"

Rose sighed. "They just take the people who have the most spirit and will and strength to escape. They take their energy so they won't escape."

"Then why do they do it on two people who are elderly? They can barely walk, much less escape. And why only to a handful of people? Why to me? Why won't they do it to Leighton? He has more spirit and determination and strength to escape than everyone combined!" I blushed immediately. For once I was actually grateful for the grime and blood covering up my face. Leighton, too, blushed profusely.

"We'll discuss this later. Right now, you need to focus on getting better and trying to heal your wounds," Rose said in a this-matter-is-closed tone.

"I don't want to go back there again, Rose," I whispered, afraid. "I don't want to stay here anymore!"

Rose hugged and rocked me like a baby, calming me. "One day we'll all be free. Maybe the Fiore army will actually find out about this place and free us."

"Or maybe _we'll_ free ourselves. If everyone just got the courage, we could fight for our freedom."

Rose smiled dreamily, but then that look disappeared. "And where would we go, Carrie?"

I frowned. My excitement disappearing.

"Where would we go?" Rose repeated. "We'd have nowhere to go. We can't go back home, because our village was burned to the ground. We don't have enough knowledge to know where else to go, so where'd we go?"

I tried to come up with an answer, but I didn't have one. My sister was right: we did have no place to go.  
"Anywhere is better than living in these mines and prison cells!" Rose looked at me and so did Leighton and every other person in the cell.

"It doesn't matter if we have no place to go. We'd all have each other and that's all that matters. We could homeless and have no money and be in bad conditions like this, but as long as we have each other we can survive with no home!"

Everyone smiled. Then suddenly the cellar doors opened with a deafening clang. Abriekios walked in and everyone slinked back into the shadows.

"Come Carrie! It is time!"

Rose pushed me behind her. "You said she could have two more days!"

"Did I?" Abriekios questioned smugly. "I don't recall putting it on paper or anything. Now step aside."

"No," Rose said plainly.

Abriekios stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes wild. "_What_ did you say?" he asked severely.

Rose drew a shaky breath. "I said _no._"

"How _dare_ you?!" he said stunned, brandishing a wicked sword this time. He was about to come over to off Rose when a loud _boom_ echoed from up above.

"What is going on?!" Abriekios yelled.

"Sir," a man rushed over to Abriekios. "It was just spotted that prisoners a few floors up, hid dynamite and weapons and our now trying to escape and rallying up the prisoners. Sir, they're rebelling."

The dense atmosphere in the cell rose. Leighton grinned, taking a stick of dynamite out from underneath a stone. "It's about time!" He scraped the dynamite against the wall and it lit. "Everyone out!" he shouted.

Rose lifted me in her arms and ran, along with everyone else. Leighton threw the dynamite down and ran out just before it exploded and the whole cellars on the right hand side caved in.

"Let's go! Everyone outside!" he commanded. He cut the locks on the other cellar doors freeing everyone else and we all headed outside.

We heard other explosions, but that gave us the will to keep on running, trying to get out of the mines where we had an advantage.

Chapter 2

We ran up the flights of stairs and we saw other prisoners running to escape and blowing up their cells and fighting the guards. We were almost to the top, I could see sunlight.  
We busted through the top and the sunlight hurt my eyes.

"This way!" Leighton guided us and other people to down below where everyone else was gathering.  
I saw a man who I vaguely remember, was on top of a wooden box and giving a speech.

"We need to fight for our freedom! It is the _only _way we will get out of here. No one is going to come and save us. We know for a fact that they won't ever let us go free. So who is going to set us free? _We _will!"  
Everyone cheered and raised their weapons in the air.

But almost as sudden as the rebellion began, the soldiers and guards came, with fully loaded magic guns, swords, whips, and spears, and everyone's worst nightmare the electric spears that could knock you out in an instant and make you forget who you were.

A man who was obviously in charge, because everyone cleared the way, stepped forward and to everyone's horror, he was _clapping. _"A brave try, but you honestly thought you had a chance against us," he laughed. "It's amusing! But unfortunately, it ends here." He raised his hand and the soldiers began firing.

People began to drop like flies. "Put me down Rose!" I yelled over the noise. "Put me down!"

"You're severely wounded. There's no way you can walk on your own!"

"I _said_ put me down! You want to get us both killed?! This is the time to fight!" She put me down.

The man giving the speech and almost everyone were charging the soldiers and fighting. Sword against sword. Axe against magic shooters. Lives being lost here and there.

"We _have _to fight, Rose," I whispered to her. An understanding passed between us.

She nodded and picked up a magic gun from a fallen soldier. "Where's Leighton? We'll get out of this together!"

We searched and searched for him, but we never found him. As we were looking for him, we ran into the man who going after me when I escaped. He took a swing at me with electrical spear.

I dodged it, but narrowly.

"I was hoping I would find you," he smiled. "And now I get to really punish you and when this is all over and we win, I might have to kill you. Even if you are important to this cause."

"What is this cause for anyways? No one really knows," I asked. It was stupid to ask at this time, but I was curious.

He just smirked. "Why you're helping us get to a new Age."

"A new Age?" Rose repeated, confused. "Like this one is any better."

"Long ago, the great dark wizard Zeref's grave was here or at least the legend says. We're having you people dig it up for us and with all the energy we are collecting from some of you, we will have the power to resurrect him!"

Rose took the opening and fired at him. She was a good shot, but he deflected it.

"You sly girl, you have me monologuing," he said with harsh amusement.

"You're crazy! You're having us dig up somebody who may or may not even be here!"

He grinned a mad man's grin. "Yep! And if he isn't here than at least we wouldn't have had to as so much as lift a finger!"

I shook with anger. "You monster!" I took an axe lying nearby and slashed and hacked and swung at him. Rose fired at him. "How could you be so cruel?!" I yelled at him.

Rose's gun ran out. She grabbed a knife and hacked at him.

"Carrie! Rose!" someone from behind yelled.

"Leighton?" Rose stopped, but that was the worst thing she could have done. He took the opening and impaled the spear in my sister's stomach.

She drew in a sharp gasp.

Everything seemed to go in slow motion. Leighton screaming, the man laughing, my sister falling to the ground, me frozen in shock and horror. Rose fell to the ground. My body was still frozen. Leighton barrelled for the man, sword pointing straight to his heart.

I don't really remember much of what happened next. I remember seeing bright yellow spots dance in my eyes, blinding me. When they cleared up and my vision was restored, the man and Leighton were both at my feet.

"What happened?!" I cried in horror. I rushed to my sister's and Leighton's side. "Rose talk to me! Rose! _ROSE! _You can't die! You're all I have left!"

She coughed a dry, bloody cough. "Carrie."

I held her hand as if it were my anchoring my soul to this earth. "I'm right here Rose."

"Don't waste your life when you are free. When we're all free, live your life to the fullest." Her eyes looked far away.  
"I will finally see mother and father."

"Please Rose!"

"Freedom," she mused. "I am finally free. I love you Carrie." Her eyes glazed over and I knew she was gone.  
Tears streamed down my cheeks and I thought they would never end.

"Carrie?" a voice whispered.

"Leighton!" I had forgotten about Leighton.

He grabbed my hand. "Is Rose..." he choked on tears.

"Leighton what happened?!" I saw that my left hand was covered in blood and in that instant I knew it was Leighton's blood and I did this to him.

"Did I do this?!"

"Rose... I killed her," Leighton said with a hollow pain.

"No! How could you say that?!" I said with horror.

"I distracted you guys and it cost Rose her life."

"Rose wouldn't think so." But deep down I was thinking it _was_ his fault that my beloved sister was dead.

"At least I am with the one I love," he squeezed my hand tighter.

"You love me?"

"I have always loved you, Carrie. The minute I laid eyes on you. At least I am with you when I die."

"You are not dying!" I insisted. "We're going to get out of this together! Like we promised!"

"I failed you Carrie. I couldn't fulfill my promise. But at least I am with you."

"Leighton you can't leave me too! Who would I have left?"

"I'm so sorry Carrie. I love you." His eyes glazed over and his hand loosened from my grip.

"Leighton NO! I love you too! Please don't leave me! _PLEASE!" _

I watched everything around me; the prisoners bravely trying to fight, the prisoners who were fighting, but were too afraid to continue when more forces showed up, the reinforcements coming, and I stood in the middle of everything.

"NOOOOOOOOO!" I screamed. A magic circle appeared from underneath my feet, but I was too consumed by my grief to notice. I saw they bright yellow light appear in my eyes and I became aware of everything, since this was what happened and I killed Leighton.

Everyone stopped and looked at me in fright. I heard someone say, "impossible! She shouldn't have her magic after all the stuff we've done on her!"

Bright yellow lights, like the ones in my eyes, appeared in my hands, the air and ground tremored and hummed. I saw the magic circle beneath me was also bright yellow with different characters and writings with a big star in the middle.

The bright lights appeared in front of the enemy and flew towards them. They all dropped to the ground, dead.

I stared at my hands. "You guys knew I had this power all along didn't you?"  
I picked up an electric spear from the ground and carefully placed the bodies of my sister and Leighton carefully onto the ground and whispered, "I love you," to them.  
I raised the spear. "LET'S FIGHT FOR OUR FREEDOM!"

Chapter 3

Everyone cheered with rejuvinated spirit. The battle for freedom once again commenced.  
I kept summoning those balls of light, but I noticed everytime I used my power, my energy would quickly drain away. I kept on fighting though, no matter how much energy I lost.

The rest flew by in a blur, I don't really know what happened. I remember we were so close to victory and it then more troops came and they were the most brutal. I clearly remember a man slapping and hitting me so hard, I saw spots. That is when I lost it.

The magic circle appeared again, but this time bigger and the ground and air shook, humming with magic energy. No one, not even myself, knows exactly what happened, because there was only bright lights again and when everything subsided, I blacked out and lost consciousness.

I woke up. Everything was dark and I could smell that dreaded smell: the mines. Was this a nightmare? Did we lose? My answer was clear when I saw the people working five times harder, each with their own personal torturer, and complete with shackles that would send an electric pulse up your entire body.

"What is this?" I murmured, still in a trance like state.

"Shh!" someone hissed. "You want to get us killed?!"

I looked up and I was standing in a pit, pick axe and tools in my hands. "What the-!"

"HEY! NO TALKING!" an officer shouted, giving me a whip to the back. I cried out in pain as my whip slashes from earlier had not yet healed.

I was so confused, but I knew we had lost. It was hopeless. I would stay here in these mines, knowing that it was for a cause that may or may not be true. Knowing that countless of lives, including my beloved sister and the only one who loved me, I had died for no reason.

I bared my teeth, tears spilling out. Without even thinking, I grabbed a knife and lifted it to my throat.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" the person who shooshed me earlier exclaimed in horror.

"There's nothing left anymore!" I shrieked. I pressed the knife harder to my throat. _I'll be with the ones I love,_ I thought.

_NO CARRIE! _familiar voices screamed. It was my sister and Leighton

I looked around, but I knew they were gone.

_If you die, our deaths were meaningless! I told you: live your life to the fullest! _Rose's voice yelled at me. It was coming from deep inside my heart.

_You said we had a chance, you told us to never give up! That is exactly what you are doing right now; giving up! _Leighton told me firmly. _Don't go back on your word._

_Carrie, if you die that means we died in vain; it was all for _nothing, Rose cried.

_What about the others?! Dying won't help them! Dying doesn't fix the problems. We were willing to die for you Carrie, so you could be the one to free everyone. To make sure _you_ were the one who got out, not us!_

I gasped, my eyes widening and overflowing with tears. I didn't pull the knife away, but I didn't press so hard.

_You promised me you'd live your life to the fullest! This isn't keeping your promise! _Rose screamed.

_Live life to the fullest, Carrie! There may be a few bumps along the way, but you learn to withstand them. Look to the future! MOVE FORWARD! _

My eyes widened and I sobbed. I threw the knife down on the floor in total disgust. They were right. Why should I kill myself when I could get revenge. The shell that was already forming around my heart began to harden. These were the people who killed my only sister, took my parents away from me and killed them. But I killed Leighton. It was _my _fault and my burden.  
But these people were the cause.

Hey no slacking on the job!" The guard tried to whip me, but I caught it with my hand.

"What did you say to me?" I asked in a dangerous voice. I looked at him with pure hatred. The whip began to melt in my hands. He jumped back, horrified. I turned to the cave wall and the magic appeared in front of it and exploded. I ran out. They tried to stop me, but they soon figured out that they either try to stop me or get killed.

I grabbed a little wood raft and put it in the ocean and set sail. I was free. But I would never be free of the guilt that I had and the memories and pain of being in those mines. Nothing would stop the pain. I would always have a cold shell around my heart. I would never ever be the happy Carrie Evers who'd always smile no matter the situation. I was now Carrie Evers who abandoned her people, killed the people who kept her as prisoner, watched her sister die, and killed the love of her life. I was a different Carrie Evers.

Chapter 4

A year later

I was no longer Carrie Evers, I was Carrie Leira. I knew because I had escaped, they would come looking for me. A year I had lived on the streets, trying everthing I could to get some money for food and some new clothes other than the scraps of cloth that I wore.

One day, I had finally gotten enough jewel to buy myself a sandwich. I was about to go into a dingy bar, when I heard these people laughing. "Fairytail is causing commotion again," they all laughed. That got my ear. I had heard so much of this place called Fairytail, but I had no clue what it was about. "Looks like Salamander accidently destroyed half of a village. Man, he seriously needs to be careful."

"Excuse me," I interrupted. "I keep hearing about this 'Fairytail' place and I have no idea on what it is. I'm not from around here, you see."

They looked at me oddly. "You don't know who Fairytail is?! Where have you been in the last two hundred years?" they laughed. My face went red.

"Fairytail is the number one guild in Fiore, of course. They're _amazing_! Not even caring that the council is trying to shut them up." I'd heard of wizard guilds. They go on all these jobs and get paid for it. They get to go on all these advenures and see things and... _learn _things.

"Tell me more," I said.

I learned from the two men, Marl and Rwoh as they called themselves, that Fairytail may be a guild, but it's like a big family. Their master, Makarov, treats every single member as his children. Also according to them, they have some of the most strongest wizards in Fiore. "They have a lot of fun there in Fairytail," Rwoh told me.  
"You thinking of joining?"

I nodded. "But not for the reasons you think," I mumbled. "So, uh, where is Fairytail?"

"It's in this little town called Magnolia, that's not too far north from here," Marl pointed to its direction.

"Great! Well thank you so much!" I got up and started running in that direction. I wanted to join immedialtely. Marl and Rwoh said all you have to do to join, is just wanting to be in Fairytail.  
I ran as fast as I could. I wasn't joining to go on jobs and because it sounded so awesome, my real motives were to study this world, study my magic, learn how to use it, but most importantly: I was going to study the art of magic, so I could find a soulution to bringing my sister and Leighton back from the dead. I had other goals to destroy the mines and free all those people and get my revenge on the people who kept us prisoner, but they were more important to me. The shell around my heart had finally become impenetrable. In that moment, my heart finally became hard as rock and ice cold, no one would be able to touch it.

In a couple of hours, I was standing in front of Fairytail. This was it, my life was about to change. I pushed open the front doors and the cheering that I heard from the inside suddenly stopped.  
I walked down the aisle and all eyes were on me. I must've looked like a wild animal living off the streets, which in my case I was. My hair was in tangles, I had bandages all over me, my clothes were in tatters, and I could tell by the looks on their faces, that my eyes gave a dangerous warning. I walked up to the man who was sitting on the bar countertop. I knew he was Master Makarov.

He looked at me with confusion and also concern. "May I ask who you are?"

"Carrie..."

"Carrie, who?"

"Carrie Leira sir." I didn't know where that came from, it just popped into my head. I didn't want to lie, but I knew the people from the mines would probably look for me and I couldn't risk using my real name. "I came to join Fairytail, sir," I said with such determination.

"Are you alright? You look badly injured."

"I'm alright," I told him stubbornly, but I winced at my aching back wounds from the mines.

"Mirajane, please get her to Poluchka. Quickly!" he ordered a girl from behind the counter with long white hair and a pink dress.

She nodded. "Come on Carrie," she took my hand tenderly. "We don't want your first day of being a member being injured. And you look like you're starving! I'll give you a nice bowl of soup and you can have all the food you want when we get back," she smiled. It was one of the most beautiful smiles I had ever seen.

We left the guild and as we headed out, I heard the other members whispering about me.

We went into the woods to meet this lady called Poluchka. She was nice, but she said she didn't really get along with humans. She concocted this thing and it made all my scars from burns and burns that had never healed, disappear. She applied paste to my whip wounds and a sound of relief escaped my lips. Mirajane brought out a change of new clothes for me, a plain white shirt with a white pleated skirt.

I touched the fabric. "I've never had such nice clothes before," I told her softly. She looked at me with concern in her big blue eyes. I took a shower there at Poluchka's and she re-applied the paste to my wounds. I put on the clothes and Mirajane brushed my hair. When we were done fixing me up, I hadn't felt so good in since...well, since the day I was taken away to work in the mines.

"Thank you Poluchka. I've never felt so much better!" I thanked her.

She gave a wry smile. "Just be careful now."

"Let's get back to the guild so we can make you an official member, now," Mirajane smiled.

Chapter 5

"Where do you want your insignia to go?" Mirajane asked, holding up a stamper with the Fairytail guild mark.

I pointed to my upper arm, where my shoulder and arm met. "Like his," I pointed to a guy with spiky pink hair, sitting down with a blue cat, fighting over a fish it looked like.

"Ok!" she winked. She put the stamper on my arm. For a second there was an intense burning sensation, but it wasn't hurting me, it was warm and made me feel almost relaxed.

"There you go! You are now officially a member of Fairytail! Welcome to the guild!"

I looked at the Fairytail mark. It was bright yellow like the sun, my favorite color. Step one of my goal was now complete now I just needed to learn as much as I could about magic.

"Master, there's something I need to ask," I told him. He looked up expectantly. I leaned down and spoke in a low voice. "I need you to help me change my name. I don't really want to talk about it, but I need to change my name. It's a matter of life and death. I'm sorry I lied to you, but my name isn't Carrie Leira. That is the name I want to change to. My name is Carrie, but Leira is something I made up on the spot."

He didn't ask questions, which I was grateful for. "Carrie, this guild may seem like we have a lot of fun and goof off, which we do, but we all have our share of rough pasts. I know you're new, but just to let you know that we are here for you. This guild is a family."

I nodded, but I didn't really acknowledge what he was saying.

"Very well then. I will help you."

"Thank you," I said plainly. I started to walk away

"Just to warn you though," he stopped me. "That magic of yours. You never told me what it was and maybe you don't know yourself, but I know what it is and it isn't a magic to be celebrating."

I turned around. "Do you know what my magic is? Please tell me all you know about it!"

"Your eyes are a dead giveaway; they are yellow, but they shine bright. Like the stars. You use Star Magic."

The whole guild suddenly turned dead quiet again. Even the guy with the pink hair and this other guy, who for some reason stripped his shirt off, who looked like they were about to fight stopped.

"Star Magic?" I asked.

"It's a Lost Magic and one of the very powerful ones. You can summon stars, command them, have them do whatever you want. But you're one of the first people who can actually use it in hundreds of years. No one has been able to use it, it's just too powerful. But you are a special case."

_That explains the blinding balls of light. And how I... killed Leighton, _I thought.

"But that magic comes with a price," he said sadly. "By having Star Magic you use up five times more magic energy than any other wizard. Which means you will run out of energy very soon when you use it. Don't use it so recklessly when you start to go on jobs. Try foucusing on regular magic-free combat."

I gave a sharp nod. That would explain why I was always so tired and worked extra slow in the mines. Good thing after a yar of living on the streets I became excellent with combat.

Star Magic. Something else to study up on. But first before I could do anything to study... I had to learn how to actually read first.

A Week Later

I sat down at an empty seat in the corner of the guild, I always sat here; away from people. My nose was buried in a book, the History of Magic. The only problem was that I still didn't know how to read.

"Go say 'hi'" a guy who was named Gray, told a girl named Cana who could drink literally by the barrell.

"I already tried. She just ignored me. You go say hi."

He shrugged. "Tried and failed. It was like with Erza when she first joined."

"Now that you mention it, she does remind me a _ton _of Erza."

A new boy walked over to me. He couldn't have been more than five. "Hi, I'm Romeo! Nice to meet you!" he smiled. I didn't look up.

"What's your name?" he continued.

Nothing.

He snatched my book out of my hand. "Cool! What's this?"

"It's a book. Now may i have it back," I asked severely, holding my arm out.

"Why do you want it back? You haven't gone that far. I saw you. You're on the same first page everytime I look at you."

My hand started shaking. I grit my teeth to keep from saying anything.

"How come you're on the same page everytime?" he asked. Everyone was listening now. "Don't you know how to read?"

I balled my fists and bared my teeth. Gray, Cana, and and a short girl with blue hair and glasses, who I vaguely remember as Levy, intervened. But I snapped.

"I know how to read!" I burst. Everyone was looking at me now. Shocked that I actually talked. "I can talk and I know how to read numbers on the clock and... and..." I balled my fists tighter. "I swear I know more! I do! Really..."

A girl in a suit of armor and long scarlet hair, walked up and out her hand on my shoulder. "It's alright. I'm sure you tried, but it's hard to learn how to read and write."

"Erza! You're back," Gray said.

"Yep and just in time too. Carrie is it? I am going to teach you how to read and write. And I swear we can do this in just one week!"

"One week?!" I gasped.

She nodded. "I did it once and I can do it again! I taught someone else here how to read and write."

"Thank you," I said in a low voice. She smiled kindly at me. I looked into her eyes and gasped. The look in her eyes, it's the same look that's in my eyes. I'm sure she saw it too.

"C'mon! We better get started," she smiled.

That week, Erza taught me how to read and write. She was an excellent teacher and also very kind and super patient. But she didn't just teach me how to read and write, she taught me how to use and count money, the geography and history of Fiore, major history stuff for wizards, the system of how the magical government worked, the laws to both wizards and regular citizens of Fiore, and just about everything that a typical person living in Fiore should know.

"Thank you Erza," I told her when she said I was ready for the world now. "I'm in your debt."

She gave a small smile. "No, no! It was really no trouble. I've done this before and I honestly don't mind doing it."

I gave a wry smile.

"I overheard the master say that you use Star Magic. You didn't know what it was, do you need help trying to use it and learn the different spells you can do with it?"

"No," I said immediately. "I can take care of myself."

"Yes, but you said you'd never really used it and it could get out of control and-"

I flashed back to the day when Leighton died. Out of control. I killed him. "I'm fine! I don't need anyone's help!" I stormed off, tears coming down. _I'm fine on my own! I don't need anyone to help me!_ I angrily thought.  
I stormed into the guild and sat down in my usual corner spot. I wiped my tears with my shirt sleeve and looked at them in disgust. _Tears are pathetic_, I scoffed.

I was so caught up in my thoughts, that I didn't notice the pink haired boy Natsu, walk up to me. "Isn't it lonely here for you?" he asked. I just looked at him, my golden eyes glowing. He looked a teeny bit nervous, but didn't back down. "It's more fun when you're over at those tables and around people."

"I don't mind being alone," I said flatly.

"Yeah, but I can't imagine being in a guild that is having so much fun and sitting in a corner alone."

My eyes glowed dangerously brighter, my hand beginning to hum with energy. He backed down just a bit.

"Why don't you come sit with everyone," he invited, holding his hand out, a huge grin on his face.

My cold heart didn't even budge. I turned my face away sharply, my nose in the air. "No thanks," I said sharply.  
His smile disappeared, but his outstretched hand didn't budge.

"Why do you want to sit alone anyways?" he asked.

"That's enough Natsu!" Erza commanded, walking into the guild.

"Aye ma'am!" he said, acting all weird all of a sudden.

My hands glowed and little balls of energy, no wait, master said I used Star Magic. These were stars. The pressure in the room dropped and the stars in my hands shot their way to Natsu and Erza. But Erza used magic to requip armor and she was a good wizard. She summoned a sword and blocked the star, sending it up into the sky.

When the smoke cleared up and the pressure went back to normal, everyone looked at me in mixes of shock, horror, scared, and pity. I trembled all over. I did _not_ just do that. What kind of monster was I?!

I fell to my knees, my eyes overflowing with tears. "I-I-I" I stammered in utter shock. I began to gasp. "What kind of monster am I?! I'm s-sorry! I didn't mean to!"

Erza's sword disappeared. Natsu's eyes were wide, not with fright, but amazement.

"Why aren't you guys yelling at me?! You should be kicking me out!" I yelled. They just looked at me. "I almost killed someone again. Just like I killed him," I whispered.

"We don't kick someone from our family out onto the streets. It's inhumane and is just plain cruel," Erza said softly, her eyes filled with pity and understandment. _Family, _I noticed.

"This is why I like to be alone!" I shouted, mostly to Natsu. "_This _is why I am always alone! I'm a monster! I'm alone so I won't hurt anyone!" My tears just kept coming.

"But only yourself," he noted. He got me. He was starting to penetrate my cold shell. "You're sitting away so you won't hurt anybody but yourself. You're torturing yourself, aren't you?"

I clenched my jaw, traitor tears coming up.

They smiled. "We're Fairytail wizards," Natsu grinned. "We don't scare that easily!"

The tense atmosphere broke. They offered me their hand, but I still didn't take it.

Chapter 6

A year later

A bunch of stuff had happened since I joined the guild. I wasn't really there for it though. I was doing job after job and traveling throughout the entire country, learning and researching ways to bring my sister and Leighton back from the dead.  
But as I traveled, I heard many stories: a new girl named Lucy joined Fairytail and became a team with Natsu. Soon Erza came back from a big job and Natsu, Lucy, Gray, and Erza formed a team, which is probably Fairytail's strongest team. Natsu and Lucy went on an S-class quest without permission and Gray met the other student he was taught with and brought him back into the light. Our rival guild, Phantom Lord, attacked because of Lucy's dad paying them, Erza was reunited with her bad past and her friends and the man Jellal, who infiltrated the Magic Council and fired Etherion, who caused her so much pain and suffering. Then out of the blue, Laxus and his team attacked Fairytail which was a huge shock to me, but I only heard that part until I was heading back to the guild. A bunch of stuff had happened and I missed it. I almost wished I was there, but I was set on bringing Rose and Leighton back to life. But one day, I had found what I was looking for.

I was in the north, researching at an old library that had been around since forever. It was very late at night and I dicovered an old passage. It led me down to the catacombs of the library. I searched and searched and read dozens of books that looked like they could help me.  
"Dang it!" I shouted. "I'll never find anything!" I punched the rock that was formed into making shelves for the books.

Suddenly a small, black book fell from it. For some reason, I was drawn to it. I reached out and grabbed it. A black vapor suddenly enveloped me and some of it snaked into my ears and coiled itself around my brain. It hissed, "You seek to use this book. Ah, I can see everything. You wish to bring your beloved ones back from the dead." It laughed with such amusement. "You wizards are all the same; thinking you can accomplish such things, like bringing people back from the dead."

I didn't react scared or anxious or anything. That bothered the thing. "You don't seemed scared. Ooh such determination I see. Yes, I can help you. Congratulations! You found one of the Books of the Great Dark Wizard!"

_Great dark wizard, huh,_ I thought.

"Oh yes," he crooned. "The Great Dark Wizard, although I'm not going to tarnish his name by revealing it to just anyone. But I can tell you're special, so I'll show you the contents of this book." The book flipped to a page in the middle and the thing left my body.

I walked over with newfound hope and eagerness. The book was written in an ancient language, but my year of traveling and learning allowed me to decipher it with ease. I got lost in the book, but then the last few things that would help me bring Rose and Leighton back to life jumped out at me, but what it said was so horrific and surprising, that I dropped the book and my hands flew to my mouth.

"No," I whispered in shock, my eyes wide and filled with horror. The black thing appeared again and a mouth formed, smiling.

"Oh yes. This is very much true Carrie Leira, or should I just call you Carrie Evers."

"It can't be that! In order to bring them back to life, I'd have to trade my soul for theirs?!"

"Correction: _one _of their souls. You can't bring back two souls with only one. And then you'd have to sacrifice a person, because since the body is destroyed, you'd have to get a new one for them, but you'd have to give up that person's soul too!" He grinned. "Isn't it just wonderful! But the catch is the sacrifice also has to be someone who knew that person and is trying to bring them back as well. So in the end, you use two souls that can only equal bringing _one_ soul back, you trade you soul for someone else's, you die, the soul of the sacrifice's is taken and the soul you want to bring back is called and is put into the body of the sacrifice's. So really you'd bring them back to life, but you'd never see them, not even a single glimpse."

I fell to my knees, crying in complete despair. "But there's no one else who's trying to bring them back! I was the only one who knew them well and loved them!"

The thing shrugged, grinning. "Then it can't work! In a total you'd have to have four people. It's impossible to do it with one!"

I looked at the floor and suddenly, reality hit me: I could _never_ bring them back. "NOOOOOO!" I screamed, magic energy began shaking the place "All my hard work! I finally found the answer and then I find out that I can't do it! Even if I could do it, I'd never even be able to see them again!" I shouted, the tears not even stopping.

The thing grinned again. I looked at it with nothing but pure hatred and anger, my eyes were glowing.  
"Now don't give me that look. Even if you did unleash your full power on me, I wouldn't even die. Besides, you'd lose almost of all of your magic energy and would be _years_ before you'd be able to conjure up enough magic power."

I glared. "Maybe I can't destroy you in that form, but I _can _destroy the book!" The thing stiffened with shock; I had found its weakness when it acted like it was something seperate from the book. I drew a star with golden light and a shape of a star appeared on the book, setting the book in a piercing light.

"Stop it!" it shouted. It keeled over pain and began to dissolve. "You can't do this!"

I looked at it without the slightest bit of pity. "But I think I can," I crooned. "Now you see what if feels like to be in pain!"  
The thing writhed and howled in pain.

A magic circle appeared at my feet. "Eighty eight stars of heaven... SHINE!" The magic circle became bigger and more powerful. It appeared also in my eyes. "OURANO METORIA!" The spell shot itself to the book and the thing.  
The book exploded, not even leaving a single speck of dust. The thing screamed.

"You-you little! Argh! Just wait and see! This magic you use is already consuming your life! That is the price for being able to use Star Magic! That's why most people can't use it! Just wait and see Carrie Evers! Just you wait!" And he disappeared.

I glared at the spot of where he was. I wanted to believe he was lying, but I knew he wasn't. I couldn't be reckless with my magic, but I wanted to be able to use it. I started to cry. I had failed yet again. There was no way to bring them back from the dead now. I gave up.

I picked up my luggage and started heading for the exit. "Mine as well get back ho-! I mean, to the guild," I resigned sadly, still crying as if I would never stop. "I give up, Rose and Leighton."  
I got out of the library and into the beautiful sunny day. The weather seemed to be mocking me. I looked up at the clear, blue sky and murmured softly, "I give up." I never stopped crying until I set foot into Magnolia.

Chapter 7

"I'm finally back," I whispered. On my way back, I heard about what had happened with Laxus and his team of how they attacked Fairytail and did the game of 'survival of the fittest'. I also heard that at the end of the day when Natsu finally defeated Laxus and the master was all better, he _expelled_ Laxus which was a huge shocker to me since Laxus is the grandson of Master Makarov. The town looked normal though, you wouldn't have thought a huge battle just went on.

I walked into Magnolia and I heard everyone whispering. "Carrie is back!" "Where was she?" "She looks like she matured so much in just a year." "She looks even sadder than usual." I expected this much talk; I hadn't been back in a little over a year.

I saw the guild. I remember hearing how after the row with Phantom, they rebuilt the guild into a bigger and better place, because they smashed it to little pieces. But I like it better like this. I even heard two wizards from Phantom even joined! One of them was the guy who actaully destroyed the guild hall! The nerve.

When I was nearing the guild, I heard someone shout from inside, "CARRIE'S BACK!" People gasped.

"Who's Carrie? I've never heard of her," someone asked a little bit afraid. I didn't recognize her voice

"One of Fairytail's strongest wizards," someone replied. Was that Gray?

"She's never around. She's always traveling," someone grumped. Natsu?

"She's a little scary too. And she's only fifteen!" Happy?

"How crazy powerful is this girl?!" she shrieked.

"Nevertheless, let's welcome her return," Erza said, a little bit relieved.

I pushed open the doors. I stood in the doorway, scanning the room. I saw Erza, Gray and Happy, sitting down with a a blonde girl who I'd never seen before. I saw her keys dangling from her skirt: a Celestial Wizard, this must've been Lucy Heartfilia. Natsu was sitting with them, although he was covered in bandages. Mirajane was behind the counter as usual. Cana was holding a barrell, as usual, in mid air. Levy and her team Shadow Gear were talking with a man, who I also never saw before, with long spiky-ish black hair and piercings aong his face and arms, he was too covered in bandages. I knew him, he destroyed our guild hall, Gajeel Redfox. A girl with blue hair cut pixie style was fawning over Gray. She was new too, and she was also with Phantom, the Rain Woman Juvia.  
Everyone else was here too.

"Welcome back, Carrie!" Mira said happily, breaking the silence.

"That's Carrie?!" Lucy asked. "But she looks so young."

I walked in, slowly. I looked over at Lucy. "Yes I am young, thank you very much."  
She blushed.

"Where's Master Makarov?" I asked. They all looked uneasy. "I guess I should leave him alone for a bit. After all he did expel his grandson."

They all looked surprised. "You heard about that?" Cana said, drinking her barrell. How has she not gotten a heart attack yet?

"Of course I heard about it! I've traveled the entire country and Fairytail is all everyone evers talks about. Looks like we've gotten quite popular in the time I was gone," I smirked. "I've heard everything. For instance: you!" I pointed to Gajeel. "You're the one who destroyed our precious guild." He frowned in embarassment. I pointed to Lucy and she jumped. "Phantom attacked us, because your father wanted you back home." She looked down in shame.  
"Gray! You were reunited with Deliora, which your master used Iced Shell on it, and the other boy she was training. Lyon right?" He gritted his teeth. "Natsu and Happy!"

"Yes ma'am!" they perked.

"You took that S-class quest, even though you're not even S-class wizards. And so many other things that I can't even count of."

"Yeah but we completed it!"

"Doesn't matter! You disobeyed the rules." I looked over at Erza. "I even heard about what had happened at the Tower of Heaven." Her eyes displayed shock and pain. "Lots of things have happened here. I wish I was here to help you all out."

Erza spoke up, the shock and pain in her eyes gone, replaced by pity towards me. "Speaking of which, how was that two year job? I heard you completed it in only a month, very impressive."

Natsu and Lucy looked at me in surprise and amazement. Flames appeared in his fist. "Heehee! If I beat you, that'll be like defeating an S-class wizard! I'm all fired up now!"

I smirked. "You haven't changed a bit Natsu. I'll fight you later if you want. And yes, Erza, I did finish that two year job in a month."

"How was your research?" Gray asked.

My hands immediately balled into fists, my jaw clenched, and my eyes glowed bright, tears starting to come up. "It was... fine." Nobody bought it. My body started shaking. No! I couldn't be weak. I punched the column next to me, leaving a dent in the wood. Everyone was surprised.

"All my hard work," I whimpered. "It was all for _nothing_. I finally had a lead and found it! Then it disappeared right before my eyes, literally. You guys were right," I told them, looking up, tears dripping down again. "You guys were right, no one can bring someone back from the dead." Lucy and Juvia gasped. I fell to my knees and hung my head. "I failed. But I give up also, because I found it, but then I lost it."  
Someone put their hands on my shoulders. I looked up into Natsu's smiling face. "It's alright. We're here for you," he smiled, outstretching his hand like the last time I was like this. The sad and stubborn person I was, I still did not take it. They were all reaching out to me, but I never took their hands. They all tried to touch my heart, but I blocked them out. My cold heart would never give in.

I got up on my own and looked around for the corner table. It was gone. I knew they didn't put one in the corner because of me. I scowled and sat down Natsu's team. "I'm sorry for my dramatic scene and entrance," I told the guild. "Please, proceed." They all reluctantly went back to whatever they were doing before I came.

I tried to do small talk, but it was hard for me since I never socialized with anyone in the guild before. I faced Lucy and gave a small dry, smile. "Sorry about my dramatic scene. Your're new here right? Lucy Heartfilia. Nice to meet you, I'm Carrie Leira," I stretched out my hand. She shook it reluctantly but gave me a smile. I noticed she was looking at my eyes in wonder.

"Sorry," I said smiling a little bit. "Are my eyes too bright?"

"Uh, no, no, sorry I didn't mean to stare. It's just that I've never seen eyes like yours before. They're literally glowing. Are you..."

"A Star Magic wizard? Yes, I am."

"She's Carrie," Happy said cheerfully, eating a fish. "The Mistress of Stars."

Lucy looked at me with amazement. "I know you! You were in Sorcerer Weekly. They did an article on you, but they didn't really have a picture of you."

I smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, I didn't really want my face in the magazine."

"But you're a _Star Wizard_?! That's one of the Lost Magics. No one has ever been able to use it! How can you use it?"

I scratched my head. "I don't really know. No one ever taught it to me, I just did it. I suppose you could say I'm the first one in history who has ever been able to use Star Magic."

"That's so cool! So you can summon stars, do whatever you want with them. Wow!"

I blushed.

"But Star Magic is super powerful. Shouldn't you be an S-class wizard? Natsu said defeating you would be like defeating an S-class wizard."

"Ahhh! That's right! Carrie fight me!" Natsu yelled.

"Later Natsu. But he's right; defeating me would be like defeating an S-class wizard. I'm not technically and S-class wizard. I chose not to do the exam, but I still can go on the second floor, which I see is open to everyone now, and go on S-class jobs. I know it's weird, someone like me not even doing the S-class exam, but I just chose not to take it," I shrugged.

"You should go for S-class this year," Erza encouraged.

"I don't really care about being S-class or not. But maybe I should go for it this year."

"Waaahhh! Fight me Carrie, unless you're afraid!" Natsu shouted at me. "I've improved since the last time you were here."

"He has," Gray nodded.

"A bunch," Erza agreed.

"That's Natsu for you," Happy said.

I smirked. "Very well then. I accept your challenge. Say the park in fifteen minutes."

"Yeah! I'm all fired up!"

Erza put a hand on my shoulder. "A word please, Carrie." I didn't like where this was headed.

We went outside and Erza asked, "Do you know of the man Jellal?"

I frowned. "The man who infiltrated the Magic Council and was the one in control of the Tower of Heaven? Yeah, I know him. Why?"

"He used magic similiar to yours I had noticed. I was wondering if there was a connection between you guys."

"Please! I lived my life in mines! How could you possibly thin-!" I stopped myself. I'd never shared that with anyone. They just knew I came from a rough background and was looking for a way to bring someone back to life. I felt like I had exposed myself.

"Mines?" Erza questioned.

"It's nothing."

She narrowed her eyes. "It isn't just _nothing_ if you've never spoken of it before and freeze up the second you mention it and as so much as even think about it."

I scowled. "Well maybe I just never wanted to talk about it! Like you and the Tower of Heaven!"  
That got her. I took the opening and ran off to the park. I tried to think of other stuff besides the mines and me being a traitor.

Natsu and the entire guild was already there. Max was commentating. Natsu was eating fire and Happy giving words that I believe were supposed to be encouraging. Lucy and gray were sitting on the sidelines with everyone else. Lucy looked slightly nervous. Cana was already setting up her bets. So far, I was winning.

"Better be careful Natsu!" I called to him. "You might get burned to a crisp."

"Same to you!" he grinned. The look in his eyes, he was fired up. I was too.

"Ladies and gentleman!" Max announced. "The epic fight between Carrie Leira and Natsu Dragneel! Who will win?! The Star Mistress or Salamander?"

Natsu cracked his knuckles. I stood there concentrating. I was being reckless, fighting like this. I should try avoiding magic and using combat instead.

"Fight!" Max yelled.

Natsu came at me, fist ablaze. "Fire Dragon Iron Fist!"

I stopped it with my arm, his flames sputtered.

"What's this?! Carrie stopped his attack with her arm. And not even using magic!" Max cried in amazement.

Natsu was shocked, but only for a millisecond. But it was still too slow for me. "Requip!"

"Requip?" people wondered. "She can requip?!" "What's she going to requip?"

A doubled edged sword appeared in my hands. Glowing with yellow light, a star encrusted on the flat of the blade. "Nova Speed!" I slashed at Natsu with lightning speed. He fell back. I kept hitting at him, slamming him, punching him, basically kicking his butt.

"Screw this! Fire Dragon Roar!" Fire blew from his mouth. I slid under the flames and came up, slamming my fist into his gut. He fell at my feet.

"Done Salamander?" I taunted.

He got up and grinned. "Not even close!"

"Good!" Yellow light encased my foot and I drew a star with lightning speed. It appeared at Natsu's feet and a pillar of yellow light shot up.  
Everyone looked up at it in mixture of fright and awe.

Natsu fell to the ground, but quickly got back up. He charged me, both his fists on fire and tried punching me. I dodged it with ease.

"Show me your true power Carrie! Don't hold back, 'cause I'm not holding back!"

I looked at him with almost amusement. "Star Light Speed!" Hundreds of stars appeared and shot their way to Natsu. He tried to burn all of them, but how do you use fire against something that was hotter than fire?  
Somehow though he managed to stop them. But when it stopped his movement for even a microsecond, I took the opening. I summoned a star that I had never used before and slammed it into Natsu's chest.  
He fell like a rag doll.

"I think I win," I mused. The guild cheered and cashed in their bets, but I was exhausted. I used my magic recklessly, now I was going to be extra worn out since I still hadn't recovered from the magic I used at the catacombs of the library.  
I almost fell to the ground, but Gray and Erza caught me.

"You shouldn't use your magic so recklessly," Gray scolded. "And Natsu shouldn't push you. That idiot forgets everything when he wants to fight!"

"It's alright," I breathed. "I just need to lie down, eat some food, have a nice nap, and I'll be good as new."  
They didn't look convinced. I pushed myself out of there arms. "I can take care of myself. You didn't need to do that. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go to Fairy Hills and get settled in. I'm pretty sure I have a _ton _of cleaning to do."

They looked annoyed. "I've been cleaning it since you were gone," Erza stated, slightly embarassed.

I was apalled, but also grateful. "Thank you," I said curtly.

"And are you sure you can get to Fairy Hills? You can barely stand, much less get to Fairy Hills."

"I told you, I can take care of myself," I said heatedly.

Lucy walked over to us, eyeing Natsu with worry as he was still lying on the ground. "That was amazing Carrie! But are you sure you didn't kill him?"

I gave a smirk. "Please! If he can survive Laxus, Lyon, Gajeel, and Jellal, he can survive _anything_." I poked his head with my foot. I got tired of him lying on the ground like the wimp that he wasn't. "GET UP!" I shouted in his ear. He immediately did.

"Yes ma'am!"

"Natsu!" Happy exclaimed. "You got your butt kicked by someone younger than you!" he laughed.

"Did not! Carrie, I wanna rematch!"

I clonked him on the head. "That's your rematch!"

He rubbed his head. "You were holding back weren't you? I told you not to hold back!"

"Natsu you got butt kicked even when she was holding back!" Happy laughed.

"Shut up!"

I regarded him. "You were right, I was holding back. You've forgotten that I can't use my magic recklessly. My magic takes up five times more magic than any other wizard. Summoning stars takes a lot of energy, it's not as easy as it looks. Besides, do you _want _to die? Because if I didn't hold back you and I would be both dead on the ground. You in a nice pile of ashes."

I turned to Erza. "To be more specific to your question earlier: no, Jellal and I are not related by any means even my magic. Our magic may seem close, but it isn't. He uses Heavenly Body magic, I use Star magic. I use actual stars, he uses energy in the earth and makes it as his things that look like 'stars', the spells mention the stars, but it's more like just representing them, not actually them. I use _real _stars. I summon them, but I send them back. But I don't have to summon a star to use my magic, you can technically say I am a star."

She nodded.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some unpacking to do." I pushed past them. I headed up the road to Fairy Hills where most of the girls in Fairytail lived. It was a quaint place and the rooms were very nice.

I walked up the stairs to the second floor and headed to the last door on the left. It felt so familiar, coming back to this place. Almost normal. I brought a little silver key out and unlocked my door. My room was all in tact, as if I had never left. It wasn't even dusty. The bed was made, the windows open with a light breeze ruffling my curtains, the little kitchen was in perfect and clean condition, my books were in their place and some even lying out. That's right. I was doing some research just before I left. My notes were on my little desk, all strewn over it, covering every inch. I got so mad at them all of a sudden. But really, I was just angry with myself. I lit the fireplace and threw all the papers in. Ripping them to pieces before I threw them in. I grabbed my books off the shelves and chucked them in there too. Tears flowed down my cheeks and I hugged myself. What a pathetic person I was? Why should I keep crying?! It was done, over. I failed.

I felt someone's presence at the door. Erza. "Go away," I told her angrily.

She walked right in. "You know, I paid people to keep it in tact and clean. I knew you'd come back so I had the place ready for you."

I wiped my tears away. "Why are you here?"

She looked over my shoulder and into the fireplace. "You don't need to burn away all your hardwork," she told me.

"Mine as well! It was all for nothing. It means nothing to me now!"

She grimaced. "I think it does."

My eyes widened.

"You were holding on to the last bits of your loved ones. You failed and now you feel like you failed them. Now you're not letting yourself feel any emotion and you feel like you have nothing left. The only solution is to get rid of it. Erase the things that remind you of your failure and thus, forgetting them."

"Stop it!" I shrieked at her. "You know nothing! You're wrong! And stop reminding me that I failed!"

She looked at me with sympathy and pity.

"How can I say that?! How can I say that I failed? It's so horrible that I can barely get it out! Why?" I trembled.  
"All I wanted was to see their faces again. To feel their comfort and to see their smiles. I just wanted them back. The only people that ever loved me."

"Keep those memories," Erza said kindly. "Don't burn those memories, hold onto them and cherish them with all your heart. _That _is what makes us stronger."

All I remember after that, is holding onto my books and notes so tightly, my hands turned pale white. I was holding those memories tight to me.

Chapter 8

I woke up to the sound of birds tweeting outside of my window. I'd forgotten how much I missed them waking me up. I got out of bed and went to go clean up. When I was done washing my face and I looked in the mirror, I scared myself. Who was that girl? She looked like she was sleep deprived and gotten ran over by speed racer. I soon realized it was me. I looked awful. I didn't look fifteen at all. The last year had made me mature and grow older. I guess since my goal was finished and I didn't really have anything to do, mine as well take care of myself and get me back to looking normal.  
I drew a nice, warm bubble bath and got in. My tense muscles suddenly felt relaxed. I washed my wavy dark red hair and scrubbed all the dirt and grime off my body. I got pair of scissors and trimmed my hair, making it look less crazy. I put on a puffy, white and yellow polka-dot tunic blouse and yellow short skirt. To top it off with golden sandals. I ate a ton of food and I could almost see the normal pink coming back into my cheeks. I walked out of my room feeling better than I had since I got to Fairytail.  
I walked through the doors of Fairytail and was glad no one was whispering about me when I strode down the aisle. I walked up to the request board, already looking for my next job. I couldn't help but overhear Natsu ranting about the job they were thinking of taking.

"Waaahhh! We can take these Black Wizard Bandits whoever they are!"

That caught my ear. I'd heard that name before. In a pub on my way back to Fairytail a couple days ago. I knew who they were. They were the people who kept us prisoners at the mines. They were the group who was trying to hunt me down!

"The Black Wizard Bandits, eh?" a deep voice said to Natsu's team. It was the master!

"Master!" I rushed over to him.

"I see you're finally home. I heard everything. But did you hear anything about these guys?" he asked quizically.

I swallowed. "Yes Master."

"Huh," was all he said. "Care to explain to these guys here?"

I balled my fists. "You're going on this job?" I burst at them.

They all looked confused. "Well yeah," Gray said. "We need the money."

"Let me come with you!"

The guild got quiet.

"You want to come with us?" Lucy asked, shocked. "Why?"

"You need me for this job! I'll explain later. But right now, please let me come with you!"

They looked at me strangely. Natsu got in front of me. "Of course you can come. But on one condition: that means you join my team!" he grinned. "You're either in or you're out?" He held out his hand.

I regarded it coldly. "Hmph! I'm in, but don't get any crazy ideas that I'm joining your team." I walked out of the guild.

I overheard master say a few words. I heard Erza say, "She has this darkness inside of her that was once in me. I'll do everything I can to seal away her darkness! I swear it on my life!"

"She still has much to learn about Fairytail," Gray said.

Lucy nodded. "Right! We _will _seal away her darkness!"

I stopped dead in my tracks. Seal away my darkness? They're the ones who have much to learn then. Nothing will crack my shell, nothing. I pressed forward back to Fairy Hills. I kicked my door open and began packing my suitcase again. I just opened it up when a jar fell out of it. I picked it up. Inside was a star. That's right. It was one of my first stars. It gave me hope that day I began to control some of my power and summon stars willingly.  
I looked at it with a mixture of emotions. I gave an exasperated sigh and let it drop to the floor.  
As I was putting some clothes in my suitcase, a feeling of dread settled over me. It made me stop packing all together. Butterflies flittered in the pit of my stomach. I knew this feeling. I had the feeling that i wouldn't be returning to Fairy Hills. Nor my room. And not to Fairytail. I shoved my half full suitcase to the side. I couldn't afford to be nervous now. I would have to face my capturers sooner or later. But this time, I _will _defeat them. I may have failed to keep my promise, but this was me making amends. I would free everyone. I would destroy them and take my revenge on them who made us suffer for a cause that may or may not be true.  
I walked out of my room and turned to look at it one last time. "Goodbye," I whispered to it. I knew I wouldn't ever return to my room ever again. I closed the door, locked it with my little silver key, and slid it underneath the door mat. Someone would find it. And when they did, they'd find my knowledge and my secrets and my life. It was like my heart. I locked it up and threw away the key, but eventually someone would find the key and open the door to my heart.

"What?" Lucy and Happy shrieked. "You're not bringing anything?" They looked back and forth between Erza's huge amount of luggage and my empty hands.

I shrugged. "I don't really need anything. Besides, I don't have anything that I'm attached to. So who's our client? Have you contacted them?"

"Our clients are the Magic Council," Gray said nervously. I even gave a nervous face. The Black Wizard Bandits must be going through a lot of trouble just to find me.

"The Council?"

He nodded. "The Black Bandits are getting so out of control, the Council is asking every official guild to help with their capture."

I gave a sarcastic pouty face. "Aw, it must be so embarassing for them to have to rely on mere guilds to help with their dirty work."

"I already contacted them. Apparently, we're the only guild who accepted the job," Erza said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, but we're gonna pulverize these bandits whoever they are!" Natsu said with excitement. "Right Happy?"

"Aye sir!"

"Alright! I'm all fired up now!"

I slammed my foot into his gut, knocking the wind out of him. "This is no funny business Natsu!"

"Carrie," Lucy said.

"Listen to Carrie if you know what's good for you," Master said behind us.

"Gramps!"

"Listen up you four and Happy!" he said commandingly. "You listen to Carrie. I want no complaining to her or asking why! She'll tell you when she's ready. In the meantime: _listen to her!_"

"Yes master!" they all shrieked, except for Erza.

"This is hard enough for her as it is." He faced me, squinting under the glare of glowing eyes, now dangerously bright. "You're very brave, child," he told me softly. "We'll always be here for you. You can always turn to your friends. You can always turn to Fairytail; your family."

I took a deep breath and nodded. I saw him give a slight shake of the head. "Have a safe journey," he told us and went back into the guild.

Natsu grumped, "What did he mean listen to Carrie? And we're supposed to hunt these people down? Where do we start?!" They all just looked at me. I wasn't going to tell them anything. But I somehow knew where to look.

I started walking and they all followed me in silence.

"Carrie," Lucy started. "You know these guys don't you. It must be pretty bad, because even the master said this is hard for you."

I stopped and looked her straight in the eyes. She started looking uncomfortable. My death stare was working, but I decided to drop the stare and give her a clear cut answer. "Yes. I do know who we're dealing with. I've been eluding them for the past three years, even the year before I came to the guild. And yes, it is already hard enough for me." I kept on walking. No one questioned where we were going. We walked for several miles in silence.  
We finally came upon a huge forest. We were here.

I sat down in the middle of everything and gave a small phony smile. "We're here!" They got into fighting positions, their bodies tense and rigid. I gave them a confused look and they returned it back to me. "This looks like a good place to stop and rest!" Their jaws dropped open and all of them, including Erza, went into the emo-corner.  
"Sorry guys. I just thought this was a nice place to stop and refuel ourselves." But honestly that wasn't the reason why. They were close and I could feel it.

When everyone returned from the emo-corner, they laid their stuff out for camp. Natsu started making a fire, but I stepped in. "Step aside. This is how a _real _campfire is made." He looked annoyed, but didn't say anything. I raised my hand to the sky and a star appeared in my hand. I put it above the collected firewood. "This is better than a regular campfire. The light is brighter, it's hotter, and over all it's just so much better!" They all looked in wonder at it, Natsu was just annoyed and being a sour puss.

"So _Mistress of Stars_," he emphasized my name. "I wanna rematch when we get back to Fairytail!" he grinned, holding out his fist ablaze with fire.

I narrowed my eyes. "I'll make no such promise," I sniffed.

"Why not?" he whined. I looked away, I couldn't meet their eyes. Erza looked at me suspiciously. She was smart, she was getting an idea of what my motives were.

"So, mind explaining to us who these Black Wizard Bandits are?" Gray asked cautiously, heeding the master's orders.

"Gray," Erza started.

"No it's fine. You have a right to know. The Black Wizard Bandits," I mused, looking into my star. They all leaned in. "They're these awful people. They work on an island in the middle of the ocean, in the middle of nowhere. They're blind followers of the Black Wizard Zeref. Hence the name 'Black Wizard'. It almost reminds me of the Tower of Heaven. But you see, they're the same people from the Tower of Heaven." Erza caught her breath.  
"More or less. They're the same cult. And yes, Erza, they are still plenty alive and kicking. They'll do _anything_ for the cause of Zeref. But enough of that part! The Black Wizard Bandits are part of that, but they're not on that island. They're here on the mainland. What they're job is to hunt down their slaves who somehow escaped. They never let _anyone _go. Not even a single person. They will hunt you down and bring you right back to the island. You can get off the island, but you'll never be free." I let that sink in.

"I've never heard of them," Happy said.

"Well they never existed until three years ago. Not until people had actually started escaping and getting free. That's when they were formed. Oh and one more thing: I didn't stop here because we needed a break, I stopped because we're here."

Suddenly, people in black suits jumped down from the trees above us. _Impossible! _I thought. _How could we not sense them above us?!_ I summoned hundreds of stars. "Light speed!" They rained down on them, but they dodged them so easily. Erza requipped. "Don't use your magic Carrie!" she ordered. I hated not using my magic. "Fire Dragon Roar!" Natsu yelled.

"Ice Make Lance!"

"Open Gate of the Archer: Sagittarius!"

"Blumenblaat!"

"Max Speed!"

There was a flash of light and everything suddenly stopped. Erza, Natsu, Lucy, Gray, and even Happy were sprawled all over the ground. The people in black went over and pinned them down, holding staffs to their backs. Magic Nullifiers. They would cancel your magic out. I was perfectly untouched and standing in the middle of it all.  
I readied myself to fight. "So you finally found us," I spat. "Black Wizard Bandits."

A man stepped forward. "Very impressive. I expected nothing less," he took off his mask, "Fairytail wizards."

I caught my breath and suddenly all my memories flooded my mind. Sweat beaded my face. My anxiety sooned turned into pure rage and hatred. "Abriekios!" I snarled.

"You know him?!" Natsu yelled, struggling to get the guy off of him.

"At last we have finally found you!" Abriekios laughed. "Carrie Evers. Or should I say Carrie Leira, Mistress of Stars. I hear that's your name now. How long did you think you had before we found you? You were smart changing your name, but it just wasn't enough. But I must admit, Makarov hid you well."

"Carrie what is he talking about?" Lucy asked wincing.

"Oho, she didn't tell you? How cute! But at last we have found you Carrie. And now our project can be complete! Without you it never could've worked. We had the others yes, but it was you who we needed the most."

My eyes glowed dangerously bright, the air started humming, Abriekios knew this feeling well. "Let my friends go," I said dangerously. Abriekios put on a brave face, but it was clear in his eyes that he knew what I was capable of.

"I don't think we will. This is part of your punishment for running away. You get a front row seat of watching your friends die. Again!"

"LET THEM GO!" I screamed. A huge magic circle appeared at my feet and the whole atmosphere shook with magic energy. My whole body began to glow. A magic circle appeared in my eyes. I could feel all my magic slipping away, along with my life span. _I have to stop!_ I thought frantically. _I'll die if I don't._ I had to finish this quickly and get away. But having them capture me was part of my plan, just not right now, and I was still in shock.

"Star Arrows!" The stars shot themselves toward the Bandits. I raised my hand to air, a symbol burning itself onto my forearm. "Meteoria Starmigia Redemption!" Magic circles appeared on the Bandits' chest, face, arms, and legs. "Let the stars place judgment on you!"

For a second nothing happened. Then suddenly, the magic circles burst. Lights of every color burst from them. You could feel its intense energy and heat. The Bandits all cried out in agony. But I wasn't done.

I drew symbols on the palms of my hand with a muddy stick. I clapped them together like I was praying. "VANISH!"  
One minute they were all lying on the ground and then a bright shimmery light passed over each of them and they were gone. I did it. But they would be back and I knew it. They weren't done with me and I certainly wasn't done with them.

The magic circles disappeared from my eyes, the glowing light on my body went away, and my glowing eyes died back down to its usual soft yellow glow. I stumbled, but arms caught me. I looked up into the faces of Natsu and Erza. "That was amazing Carrie," Natsu said his eyes eager.

"They're not gone," I croaked.

"You need to rest," Erza coaxed. "You used your magic recklessly and used a ton of it."

I glared. "I absolutely _hate _being limited! I can handle myself. I always have." I pushed myself out of their arms but just to fall flat on my face. They sat me up and propped me against a tree.

"We're safe now. They're gone, but also not. I just transported them to a different place," I told them groggily.

"Carrie, there's a connection obviously, between you and the Black Wizard Bandits? Something you're not telling us," Lucy questioned.

I stared at the ground. _They deserve to know_. "I guess I have no choice but to tell you, but it isn't a happy tale. I've been on the run from those people since I left. I wouldn't be surprised if you tossed me out of your group after this," I said with pain.

"Fat chance," Natsu said shaking his head.

I gave a teeny smile. "As I said earlier, those Bandits are from the island and are part of the cult doing anything involving Zeref. What I left out was what they were doing on that island. They want to resurrect Zeref. They believe that on that island is where Zeref supposedly died. They had us mining for any sign of him."

"Us?" Gray noted.

I nodded. "I was one of those captured people and forced to do hard labor and dig hundreds and hundreds of feet under the island for something that may or may not be true." I told them my first couple attempts of running away and being captured. That man Abriekios pretending that he was going to give me a break. Leighton and the other rebels attempting a prison break and a fight for our freedom. "I didn't know I was a wizard. I didn't know that was why they only brought me and a handful of other people to that place," I shuddered. "They tortured us and every time we left, we felt as if we had no energy. No one would tell me why they did that to only us, I suppose it was to protect me. Anyways, after the prison break and we all gathered outside and we fought for our freedom, all though it did not last. They brought in reinforcements and overpowered us. My sister and I, we were fighting the man who was always the one chasing after me. Leighton appeared and called out our names. Rose hesitated and the chaser took that oppurtunity and k-killed her. Right in front of my very eyes." Tears silently ran down my face. I wasn't going to mention the promise I failed to keep to my sister. "I will never forget that moment. But then something happened. I think someone knocked me out, because when I woke up, the man... and Leighton were dead. Everything happened in a blur after that, I used magic for the first time and I killed the enemy. It helped, but not by much. We were all rejuvinated with strength, but then we were soon overpowered. I lost it then. My magic came back, but stronger, I don't remember anything after that. I woke up in the mines again. I probably used so much magic that I passed out and let our victory slip through our fingers. I realized that I was alone in this world and there was nothing left for me. We had lost and we would never be able to leave. They were torturing us and making us work harder than would've thought possible. And then-"

They looked at me in 'keep going' way.

I swallowed hard, tears of shame and embarassment now gushing out. "I tried to slit my throat with a nearby knife. I tried to k-k-kill myself."

I would never forget the horror on their faces. Natsu balled his fists and bared his teeth. He grabbed my shirt and put my face to his. "At least you were alive! Never give up! There's always a fighting chance! If there isn't one then you make one! You never kill yourself! How does that make it better for anyone?! You're just running away and not dealing with the problem!"

His words brought me back to what Rose and Leighton told me. "That's what they told me too," I said softly.

Natsu softened just a bit, but he didn't let go of me. "I admit it was wrong and the worst thing I could have done. I regret doing that with all my life. Not a day goes by that the guilt weighs me down." He let me go.  
"After that, I heard the voices of Rose and Leighton. They eventually got me to stop what I was doing. It's weird, I know. But I'm in their debt now for saving me. I then exploded the cave and they soon found out that they would either try to stop me or get killed in the process. They left me alone and I found a small raft and sailed here. Then I found out of Fairytail and we reach the end. As I traveled I heard of the Black Wizard Bandits and I knew they were looking for me and only me. It's impossible now to escape the mines."

Erza looked at me with understanding, she knew my pain. But my pain was deeper than what I said, because that wasn't all of it. I lied about Leighton's death and the promise I kept to Rose and failed to keep.

"That's why you were always traveling," Lucy said sadly. "You were running away from the Bandits. But there's more. You wanted to bring your sister Rose and Leighton back to life. But it's also so much more than that: you're running away from your past; yourself."

I looked at her. She was starting to get through my shield.

"They're after you for your magic," Erza spoke. "You're obviously a powerful wizard and were probably the most powerful one in the mines. They tortured you for your magic so they could resurrect Zeref. But they only took small parts of your magic, because you would've died. They'd have all the magic power though and we wouldn't be in this situation. That's why they still want you. You still have the ton of magic energy they need. They could use hundreds of wizards but it still wouldn't be enough because they need S_tar Magic. _You're magic is one of the most powerful in the wizard world. It could bring Zeref back." she said strongly.

They all looked at her surprised, but I just nodded. "Impressive. You figured all that out in just a few short minutes. I'd expect nothingless from Titania." That was one theory though. Star Magic was very powerful, but there was a little know fact about it that I discovered. I was sure they discovered it too. It could be very useful to both them and to myself. There was a plan within a plan if Zeref happened to not be there.

"What is it that you're not telling us?" Gray asked me, taking me by surprise. "The way you look right now; your body language, you're clearly not telling us something," he said inquisitively.

I was taken aback. "I'm not hiding anything," I lied. "I told you my story and that's that."

"You're lying," Erza said fiercely. "You're exactly how I was. You _are _hiding something and there's no point in lying, especially to us; your team."

My eyes glowed, my body trembled. "Leave me alone!" I shouted. "Some things aren't ment to be shared, even to your friends! They're too deep and heartbreaking to share! Don't you feel that way Erza? Aren't some things to private and sad to be shared with from what happened to you? I know you feel that way. So why do it to me?! What I've done is too terrible to talk about! It's so horrible and I can't believe I can even _live _with myself!"

"At the guild when you came back, you said it was your fault. You said you had failed," Lucy said. "Carrie, what did you _do?" _

I covered my ears. "Stop it!" I screamed. I trembled even more. "Don't remind me of my failure! Every day I torture myself because of that. Not by being hard on myself, but just _living _is torturing myself! If you knew what I have done, you'll hate me for sure." I suddenly felt like a child, a mere baby, who wanted comforting, but would never be able to get it.

"This is my fight and fight alone. It is my burden not yours," I told them when I had calmed down a bit. "And so, I leave you here." I raised my hands, the magic circles freshly drawn on the palms of my hands. They realized what I was doing.

"Carrie no!" they all shouted. Too late. I clapped my hands. Yellow light enveloped them.

"What are you doing?!" Natsu shouted.

I looked at them with tears in my eyes. In that moment, they all realized what I was going to do. "This is my battle, win or lose I am staring death in the face." The light shone brighter. "But don't worry, I'm sending you back to Fairytail. Tell master I said I was sorry. Now, goodbye everyone! Vanish!"

"CARRIE!" they all shouted. There was a _POP_ and then they were gone, my name still lingering in the pungent air.  
I fell to my knees, exhausted. "You can come out and get me now. I know you found your way back already," I croaked.

The Bandits materialized from the woods. They surrounded me and put magic nullifying handcuffs on me. "Ah, you realized we have people who can flash in and out of places, impressive. But now you can't and won't ever escape," Abriekios laughed.

"There's no point in running," I grimaced, "if you're facing the thing you do not want to face."

"Ah, but you are going to help us so much. But I'm not sure the warden is going to be happy when he sees you," Abriekios smiled cruelly. He pointed a spear to my back and I slowly got up and walked.

"Direct line!" a Bandit exclaimed. It felt as if I were spinning through a whirlpool as fast as the wind. Suddenly, we were there.

_So soon_, I thought. The place hadn't changed one bit. People were hauling mine carts overflowing with stuff found beneath the earth, the towers that housed the people who kept us prisoners, the stairs that led down to the prison cells beneath us, the people working so hard. I was madly shaking, my breathing became harder. My nightmare had come true.  
"I'm home."

Chapter 9

I was home. The place that I spent two years trying to run away from (in more ways than one) was now in front of my very eyes. I wanted to wake up from this terrible nightmare, but it was real. I had to be strong though. This was for the people who were suffering beneath my feet. For my sister and Leighton who died because of me. This was all my fault. This was my mistake. I had to fix it. Abriekios pushed me from behind. "Chilling isn't it?" he said, moistening his lips and grabbing my chin. "To be back in the place you tried so hard to escape. And now you're back and we're going to drain you of all your magical power to the last drop. It's mouthwatering!" I spit in his face with absolute disgustion. He turned beet red. He threw back his hand and struck me with such force, I almost blacked out. "Take her away!" he commanded the other Bandits. They blinded me this time and they hauled me to aroom that I knew well. I could feel its presence almost. I felt them attach me to these wires. The sensation was too familiar. Suddenly, the ground went out from underneath me and I was hanging in midair, the wires the only thing sustaining me. This was the place where they drained all my magic. It was hopeless to struggle because you would just get electrocuted. There was no escape. _Every last drop, _Abriekios had said. Makarov said that magic is tied to the very essence of the wizard. So if they drain my magic... I will die.

_I'm sorry. Rose and Leighton. I couldn't keep my promise. But I'll see you soon. Soon, I will be one with the stars_. A single tear rolled down my cheek. This was the end for me. I was going to see Rose and Leighton again. I could finally be with them. I tensed my body, bracing myself for the pain.  
I saw the technician put it on full throttle and the familiar feeling of thousand of tiny needles, penetrated my body. I screamed in pain. This pain was worse than ever before. I could feel my magic being sucked out of me slowly. A slow and painful death. Tongues of electricity danced around the wires. More pain intruded my body. I kept screaming and yelling in utter pain. I wanted to fight back, but I couldn't. Pain and fear had me shell shocked.  
About two hours had passed and I was beginning to see dark spots and my head was so dizzy. I was so exhausted, I couldn't even scream anymore.

Abriekios and the rest of the Bandits and even the technicians were laughing maniacal, cruel laughs. Suddenly out of nowhere, dozens of swords flew at the technicians, pinning them to the wall. Abriekios turned and a fist of flame was smashed into his face. The Bandits were covered in ice. I looked over groggily. "No one messes with someone from our guild!" It couldn't be! But it was. Natsu, Gray, Erza, Lucy, and Happy were all here, fighting for me.

I gave a weak smile, but only to cry a strangled sound when the pain hit at a thousand volts. "Carrie!" they all screamed. Abriekios was at the controls now. "Fire Dragon Wingslash!" Natsu yelled, fire going to Abriekios who was knocked out cold.

I continued to scream in pain, but my vision was almost black and everyone's voices sounded so far away. "Carrie hold on!" Erza yelled. She tried to cut the wires that were holding me, only to be electrocuted herself.

"It's no use," I croaked. "You can't cut them unless you want to end up like me." But there was determination in Erza's eyes. "Happy!" she commande.

"Aye sir!" He flew to me and landed on my stomach, still only to be electrocuted.

"I t-t-told you," I screamed, teeth clenched. I blacked out.

I was floating. Floating in midair, in nothing. Yellow light was surrounding me. _Am I dead? _I thought. _Good. Now no one can suffer because of me. But I also failed. I failed to free those people. I failed at keeping my promise. So it's good that I'm dead. I can be with Leighton now. And Rose. _

"Not dead, my sister."

_Rose!_

They appeared, Rose and Leighton. "Why do you keep wishing you were dead?" Rose asked disappointedly.

My lip quivered. Without thinking, I ran to them, wrapping my arms around them and sobbing. They rubbed my hair comfortingly.

"Why do you keep wishing you were dead?" Rose repeated. "You promised me."

"I failed! I failed to keep my promise to you Rose! And everyone keeps getting hurt because of me. You and Leighton, you're both dead because of me."

"Nothing is your fault Carrie," Leighton said gently.

"Yes it is! Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Erza, and Happy-!"

"Are all fighting for you," Leighton said.

"Carrie, you're not worthless. Everyone is fighting for you. If the people down there died, trying to fight for you and bring you back. If they died, that means they died for nothing."

"But-!"

"And soon, you'll realize it's not yourself you're mad at, it's us," Rose said sadly.

I drew back. "That's not true."

They nodded. "It is. You're mad because we left you alone. Your only family. The only people you had left," Rose said gravely.

"But you're not alone, Carrie. You _do _have a family."

I looked behind me and an image of what was going on was there. They were all lying on the floor, struggling to get to their feet. "Give Carrie back!" Natsu screamed.

"She's pat of our family! And when someone from our family is hurt they are immediately are enemy! We'll crush you like the rest of our enemies!" Erza yelled.

"If this is her darkness, then we'll seal it away for good!" Gray cried.

My golden eyes widened and tears were spilling out.

"You're not alone, Carrie." Rose and Leighton smiled, fading. "You have a family now." They disappeared.

The light faded and I woke up in the real world. I was filled with newfound strength and something I hadn't felt in a long, long time: happiness.

"Let me go you bastards!" I screamed. The whole place started to shake. "I'm done running away from you! So... LET ME GO! I call on the Twelve Zodiac of the Celestial Spirit world, lend me your power! The stars of heaven, lend me your power! The power of the Heavenly Body, lend me your power!"

"Celestial Spirits?" Lucy cried.

"Heavenly Body?" Erza mused.

I disappeared from the wires and landed on the platform above me, raising my hands to the heavens. "My own magic of the stars, help me!"

Everyone began to run, but I sealed off the exits. Golden light appeared in front of all of them and for every one of our capturers in the mines. I caught sight of Abriekios, his face was a perfect mask of terror and amazement. But in his eyes, for some reason, I saw victory in them.

Magic energy seared the air, making my ears pop. The Twelve Zodiac appeared, golden flames came, my magic of stars: my power.

My comrades eyes were wide with amazement.

"I am Carrie, the Mistress of Stars, one of Fairy Tail's strongest wizards! Now... Vanquish in my name! HEAVENLY CELESTIAL STARS!"

White light engulfed the mines, the heat was searing. By using this magic I was putting myself in danger, but I could care less.

Then, something felt wrong. The light died down, the heat was no more, and the Zodiac and the golden flames disappeared. And I was out of magic and regular energy.

My vision was blurry and I couldn't stand, I fell off the side of the platform. My comrades were wide eyed, there mouths hanging open. Abriekios was laughing. A man of whom I had never seen before was standing next to him. I landed on the ground hard, I could feel my bones in my ribcage and my left arm and leg break with a gut wretching crack. "CARRIE!" they yelled. They ran to me.

Erza picked me up, laying me in her lap. I cried in agony. Oh how the pain hurt. It hurt to breathe, it hurt to be alive. I had failed again. I gave it my all, but in the end, my limited energy and life gave in.

"What did you do to her?!" Lucy demanded.

The new man laughed. "Us? We only drained her magic. But this was her own fault. She should've known better."

"What are you talking about?" Gray hissed.

"She didn't tell you? Well I'm sure she told you the part of how she can't use her magic recklessly. But that's only a portion of the truth. It not only reduces her energy much faster, but also her life!"

They all gasped sharply.

"Magic is tied to the very essence of a wizard. Her magic drains away her life force, therefore draining her energy much more quicker than most wizards. By using that much magic and that particular magic, she's basically killing herself!" I began to cry, because I knew he was right. I was being reckless and I knew the stakes.

"Shut up!" Natsu screamed, trying to punch the man. He dodged it.

"You dare fight me?" he asked, intrigued. Suddenly, we were outside of the mines, all the people surrounding us, the miners nowhere to be found.

"Like yeah I do! Happy."

"Aye sir!"

"We'll hold off these guys," Gray said, stripping his shirt off.

"Yeah," Lucy agreed, holding her whip out.

"For Carrie," Erza said.

"I'm fired up!" Natsu yelled, flames ready in his hands.

I mustered up my energy to yell, "Natsu no! Don't fight him! He's the leader of the mines! He's the one responsible for all of this! He's too powerful! He trained with the group of dark wizards. The Baram-!" I couldn't finished. He shot a dark wave of magic at me. Immediately pain racked my body even more and I screamed blood chilling screams.

"Stop it!" Natsu yelled, charging for the man.

"Nat...su," I murmured. I was a failure. I couldn't even protect my friends. Friends. Yes, I had finally found friends. I suppose I knew all along that they were my friends, I was just too stubborn and blinded by hatred and my goal of bringing back the dead. But I finally do realize now, that I _do _have friends. And they're right in front of me and back in a guild that is by far the most fun and craziest guild ever and they take care of their family. I smiled weakly.

The battle was going on in a blur, I couldn't see, my magic was drained. I pushed myself way too far this time. There might be a good chance that I won't ever use magic again and be even more weak. I watched what my eyes could interpret and I was amazed at them. Natsu was holding him off and the rest had already taken out most of the soldiers. _What an amazing guild I'm in, _I thought.

Then, something in the air didn't feel right. My ears popped again. I looked over at Natsu and the man. Natsu was on the ground, injured and I saw Lucy, Erza, Gray, and Happy, being overpowered with the soldiers. I tried to get up, I had to do something. The pain shot through me again and I almost blacked out.

"Die Salamander!" he said. He got into a positon that I knew well, it was forbidden black magic. "RUN NATSU!" I screamed.

Green, black, and purple waves of magic appeared at his hands. "From the Book of Zeref... Night of Living Hell!"

Everything happened so quickly. In a flash I was facing the black magic, my arms spread. _This is the end_, I told myself. I braced myself for the very thing that would defeat me. It engulfed me and I was done.

Everything went into slow motion. I fell to the ground, tears in my eyes, Natsu and my other friends' eyes wide, Abriekios laughing, I landed on the ground feeling unbelievable pain, but I did not regret my actions. Erza, Lucy, and Gray destroyed every soldier in their path. Natsu was staring at me, mouth hanging open and eyes beyond shocked.

They finally ran to me, Erza propped me on her lap again. "Carrie! Carrie you idiot! You did exactly what Simon did. Why?!"

I smiled. "Erza, Natsu, I finally understand what you mean. About friends and the bond of our guild. I finally understand. I do have a family and here you are now. You never gave up on me no matter how much I pushed you guys away. I finally understand, I had a family all along."

"You're not dying!" Erza cried, tears pouring out of her eyes.

"I was going to die soon anyways. My magic comes with a price. You of all people should understand. Finally, rest though, rest. But I still failed, I failed to keep my promise."

"What promise? You didn't fail?" Lucy insisted, crying.

"My promise to my sister and my beloved Leighton. To live life to the fullest, keep moving forward. But I didn't. I kept looking to bring them back. I didn't live my life because I was so stuck in the past. I did fail in more ways than one. But I don't feel like a failure anymore. No one can be brought back from the dead." I looked up at all of them. "Please make sure no one else makes my mistakes. Natsu." He leaned in. I outstretched my hand, warm yellow flames dancing in my palm. "The flames of stars. The flames of the heavens. My flames. The flames to defeat him. Take it."

Without hesitation, he gently took my hand, the flames spreading all over his body.

"Defeat him and free all of my people. Fullfill the wish that I could not." I breathed a heavy sigh. I outstretche my palms to all of them and two stars appeared in each. "My stars. I am giving them to you, but they serve as a reminder of a promise. Promise me, that you will live your lives to fullest. Promise me!"

"We promise!" they all said, Erza and Lucy and Happy crying.

I sighed with relief. "Finally, I can be with my sister and Leighton. I can see them. When you remember me, remember me not as Carrie Leira, remember me as my true self, Carrie Evers, the Mistress of Stars. Erza, don't beat yourself up about me. You didn't fail me. I understand now and you all _saved _me. Fairy Tail really isn't just a guild, we're all family. And families help each other and protect each other. At least in my final actions, I actually acted like what families should do. _Thank you, _Fairy Tail. Thank you, my family. Tell Master that I said thank you and that I'm sorry. But thank you Fairy Tail. I really did love this guild." I smiled and I was truly happy. My tears stopped and I took one last breath in this world. "Thank you," I whispered. And I was gone.

"Carrie?! Carrie!" Erza screamed, but I heard her in the background as I was whisked into a soft warm golden light.

_Finally, _I thought. _I can be with Rose and Leighton. I don't regret my actions and in my final actions, I did act like families should. I'm sorry everyone at Fairy Tail, but it's my time to go. The Mistress of Stars is going to her rightful place in heaven. Thank you. I will never forget you. Thank you, my family at Fairy Tail. _

I looked at the golden gates of heaven. Everyone was smiling and waving at me. Rose and Leighton stepped towards me, they smiled with pride, holding out their hands to me. I smiled back. I took their hands and walked towards the gates of heaven and for once, I didn't look back.

Fairy Tail

Everyone had tears in their eyes. Wendy was crying. Erza was herself teary eyed. "And _that _is who Carrie Evers, the Mistress of Stars was. One of Fairy Tail's strongest wizard, one of our bravest, one of our family."

Lisanna was covering her mouth and Wendy was blowing her nose softly into a tissue. She looked at the jar that held Carrie's star. "I will keep this star. As a reminder to live my life to the fullest, too. To honor Carrie, the Mistress of Stars." Everyone agreed, to use Carrie as a reminder to live their lives to the fullest.

"And so to conclude this story, after Carrie had died, Natsu used Carrie's flames to defeat the leader of that horrible place, we freed everyone from the mines. But something the mines leader had said still bothers me. He said it could be of great value to us and it was their plan within a plan. But anyways, we took Carrie's body and buried her in a beautiful field where you can always see the stars so clear and bright. We of course had the usual guild funeral, but at this one, Master was too grief stricken to speak."

"Indeed I was," Master Makarov said sadly. "I couldn't speak, because I had seen this coming. I knew by sending her to the place she had spent her freedom running away from, that she would not return, and yet I sent her anyways. I couldn't speak, because I knew that our beloved Carrie, who was always so quiet and wouldn't let anyone touch her heart even when they were trying to reach it, would not come home. I was very happy, though, when Erza told me that Carrie thanked me and she finally realized the bond of our guild and that she did have a family."

"Master, do you know what the mines leader was talking about?" Lucy asked.

"I do. With Star Magic, you can turn back time."

Everyone gasped, eyes wide.

"Turn back time?" Natsu stammered.

"Indeed. It's a little known fact of Star Magic. I suppose Carrie knew it too. And those horrible people at the mines. They were planning on turning back time, to the time of when Zeref ruled. But know one knows exactly how you can turn back time. It's possible, but the catch is how would you do it."

"I need some time alone," Erza croaked. Everyone watched as she left the guild.

"Poor child," Makarov sympathized. "She keeps thinking it's her fault even though Carrie told her not to beat herself up, because she had finally did realize."

Lucy watched sadly. "It's not her fault."

Natsu spoke. "It's because of what happened at the Tower of Heaven."

Everyone looked at him.

"At the Tower of Heaven, her friend Simon did the exact same thing to us and he died. She's still blaming herself for his death and the same thing happened with Carrie now too."

"That's what she meant then, when she said, 'you did exactly what Simon did'," Gray said.

Natsu nodded. "But Carrie died protecting me. But Erza still feels that she failed, even after what Carrie had said. And she truly did realize."

"Poor Erza," Wendy said.

Erza looked at Carrie's grave, tears streaming silently down her face, her scarlet hair waving in the gentle wind. The stars were out and they were beautiful. She wondered if Carrie was making them beautiful. "I failed you, Carrie," she said softly, falling to her knees. She felt her comrades' presence behind her. She looked at them, crying and looking defeated.

Natsu looked at her and smiled gently. "In the end, Carrie was smiling. She thanked us. Isn't that enough?"

Erza's eyes widened. She saw the image of Carrie in her lap, smiling. _Don't beat yourself up about me. You didn't fail me. _Lucy gasped. In that moment, Erza and everyone else saw Carrie standing in front of them, smiling the biggest smile. They watched as she kept on floating to the air and she glowed so bright they had to avert their eyes. The bright glow stopped, but there was a new glow in the sky. They looked up and saw a brand new constellation of a girl walking across the sky, her hand outstretched, holding a star: their promise to live their lives to the fullest.

They stared at it in wonder. Erza watched it, covering her mouth, tears spilling over. "Thank you, Carrie," she smiled. Natsu held out his hand, grinning. Smiling, Erza took his hand and they walked back to the guild. It felt like the starry sky was smiling. Carrie was smiling.


End file.
